Hints
by Reckreator
Summary: Sam wasn't desperate for some, but after a month of dating, she was getting pretty frustrated. So maybe it was time for a little push...
1. Chapter 1

Sort of trying something new to distract from the fact that there is no Sam in the upcoming movie. Part 2 will be uploaded soon. Enjoy!

* * *

Sam studied Lara over the rim of her mug, sipping her tea. A show was playing on the TV in the background, but she had lost interest in it, her mind wandering to her girlfriend instead.

Lara was reading her textbook intently, her eyes skimming over the page before she scribbled some notes down. She had been at this for an hour now, and Sam could tell her mind was wandering from the many times she just stared blankly at the page. Still, her girlfriend had declined watching a movie with her in favour of… _study_.

Now, Sam understood how important Lara's work was to her, but she was hoping for some… 'quality time' with her girlfriend.

They had been dating for over a month now, and though Sam wasn't desperate for some, she was getting pretty frustrated. Kissing was…good. Lara was a _pretty good_ kisser as well but Sam just wanted more sometimes. She had brought up the problem during one intense make out session, but Lara had said she wasn't ready.

"I want to Sam," Lara had said quickly. "Believe me. It's just that I rushed into this with Amanda and I don't want to make the same mistake with you. I want to do this right."

Sam had agreed to wait for her, though that was with the unspoken expectation that the waiting period was going to be three or four dates. Ten dates and one month later, Lara seemed less interested in her than when they had first met.

Maybe she wasn't being sexy enough? Sam thought.

She looked down at herself. Sweatpants, a large t-shirt and some pink fluffy socks…yeah not exactly attractive. She needed to up her game if she wanted Lara to notice her.

She hid her smile behind another sip of tea as a plan started to form in her mind. She wasn't going to force Lara into anything she didn't want to do, but she had also said she wanted her. So, Sam was just going to give her girlfriend a little…push.

* * *

Sam glanced at the clock in their flat. It was almost nine, which meant Lara would be home soon.

She paused the show she was watching and hummed to herself as she went to have a shower. The water was warm as it ran down her body, and when she got out, the bathroom was full of steam.

Ugh, she really needed to get her eyebrows threaded again, she thought, scrutinizing herself in the mirror. Her skin felt pretty dry as well. Goddam fifty pound moisturizer wasn't working.

The click of their front door opening brought Sam out of her analysis.

She smiled.

 _Show time_ , she thought.

After wrapping a towel around her middle and after making sure a tempting amount of cleavage was on display, she waltzed out into the living room, trying to look as nonchalant as possible.

Lara was preoccupied with taking her shoes off by the door, her movements slow and stiff from a long night at work. "Hey Sam," she said, pulling the last shoe off and now wincing as she took off her coat. She still hadn't looked up, but that was alright.

"Hey sweetie, have you seen my tweezers?" Sam asked waltzing up to her.

Lara glanced up and her eyes went wide, her mouth dropping open. The coat fell from her hand and laid there as Lara stared.

Sam smiled, amused and went to pick up her jacket for her. She could sense Lara tense as she neared, but Sam didn't give anything away as she stood up and handed the jacket back to her. "I think you dropped this," she said with a sweet smile.

"Uh-Umm…Thanks," she said, taking the jacket back. She quickly turned away and pretended to be very focused on hanging it up correctly, but Sam could see that her cheeks were aflame.

She also noticed that there was a white plastic bag on the table. "Oh what's this?" she said, peeking inside the bag. There was a plastic container filled with pad thai which looked delicious.

"Umm…that's…umm," Lara scratched her eyebrow, still trying not to look at her, "My dinner," she finished.

"It looks great!" she turned back around to Lara and noticed her eyes dipped down for a second. "So…tweezers?" she asked again.

"Umm…" Her eyes darted in the direction of the bathroom, then back down Sam's body, then up to her face again. "Umm…top draw?" she said.

"Cool. I'll go check there." She smiled one last time at Lara before spinning on her heel and heading back to the bathroom.

She could hear Lara release a breath as she rounded the corner, and allowed herself to smirk.

Score one for Sam.

* * *

The next time, Sam was picking out a dress to go out. Her friends were heading out clubbing but Lara was too busy studying for an assignment or something. Sam had begged her to come out with her (not just because clubs were the best place to hook up), but because they had barely spent any time together this week. If Lara wasn't working ridiculous hours, she was at uni, or Sam was at uni, or Lara would be holed up in her room, studying or writing an assignment that was due in fifty years. Sam could see she was starting to get bags under her eyes from all the stress. Her girlfriend needed to relax, yet she seemed intent on working herself to death.

Well, if Lara didn't want to go out with her then Sam was going to show her what she was missing out on.

Sam slipped on her new underwear that she brought yesterday. It was dark purple and lacy, and she thought it was quite tantalizing. She certainly hoped Lara thought it was.

Now she just needed to right dress to go with it.

She had narrowed it down to two dresses: a black cocktail dress and a silvery grey one. They both looked good on her, but she was curious to see which one Lara thought was the best…and to see what she thought of her new purchase.

"Hey Lara?" Sam called, heading towards her room. "I need your advice." She pushed open the door to her room, the two dresses in her hand.

Lara was stretching and taking a sip of her tea when she came in. Her eyes went wide and she sputtered, choking on her tea.

Sam rushed over to her immediately. "Shit Lara, are you okay?" she asked. She patted her on the back as Lara coughed her lungs clear. Although this was an amusing reaction she didn't mean for her girlfriend to die.

"I-I'm fine," she croaked, coughing again. She glanced at Sam and immediately looked away again. Her face was red, but whether that was from almost dying or embarrassment she couldn't tell. "Your-You're wearing that out?" she asked.

"Oh I'm wearing a dress over this silly," Sam said, showing her the dresses draped over her arm. She gestured to herself, showing off her body. "But what? You don't like this?"

Lara blushed even more as her eyes ran over her body. "Umm...no I…really do," she said quietly. "It's just…who do you think is going to see this?" She looked up, perplexed.

Sam shrugged. "It's just my normal underwear Lara." That was a lie. She had no intention of getting close enough to anyone to see it and the person she wanted to see it had seen it anyways. "Anyways," she held up the two dresses. "Black or silver?"

Lara's eyes drifted to the two dresses, then back to her face. "The silver one," she said.

"Cool!" she beamed. She held the dress over herself, thinking that the black one actually looked better, but wondering if Lara also knew that and chose the silver one deliberately.

"You know it's still not too late to join me?" she said, looking back up. She brushed a lock of Lara's bangs away from her face and smiled.

Lara sighed. "I need to finish my assignment Sam," she said. "I have so much to do, and I haven't even started the one for my social science unit. You enjoy yourself though."

Sam pouted, but didn't push her. "Fine. But it won't be the same without you there." She kissed her on the cheek then went back to her room to finish getting dressed.

Well…that didn't go as well as she hoped. She was kind of hoping Lara would at least go out with her, if not take her then and there, but her study always came first.

* * *

Okay so her previous attempts hadn't worked out how she wanted. Another week had passed and Lara was still stuck in work and study mode. But tonight, Lara finished work earlier than usual, and she had said she was down for watching a movie together.

Or in Sam's words, Netflix and Chill.

Lara said Sam could pick the movie, and boy was she going to pick a good one to get them in the mood. She was tossing up between _Blue is the Warmest Colour_ and _The Notebook_. _Blue is the Warmest Colour_ was a pretty well directed movie but she was worried that Lara would fall asleep amidst all the subtitles. Then again, although _The Notebook_ was a famous movie, would Lara really get in the mood with heterosexual romance? She was pretty sure she had made Lara watch _The Notebook_ already as well and she had fallen asleep that time.

In the end Sam went with the French film and hoped the steamy romance scene would heat up the mood.

Sam had her laptop set up by the time Lara got home with their take away. She would have made dinner, but she was sure they were both tired of pasta and the Indian place down the road was pretty good.

She started the movie as they both settled down with their food. Lara sat next to her with a sigh, instantly sinking into the couch. She closed her eyes as Sam looked at her.

"Long day at work?" she asked.

Lara nodded and opened her eyes again. "It was just busy tonight; some woman's birthday. Didn't really get any time to study."

Sam rolled her eyes. "Don't use that as an excuse to bail out of our movie night."

Lara gave her a tired smile. "I wouldn't dare dream of it," she said. "What movie are we watching anyways?"

Sam hit play on her laptop as they both dug into their food. The curry was delicious, and the naan was soft and fluffy. Sam had already seen the film so she was watching Lara as it played. She seemed indifferent during the first bit but Sam was eager for her to really be immersed in it, so she cleaned up after they had finished so Lara could sit and watch. When she got back, she settled into Lara's side and continued watching.

When it got to _that_ scene, Sam could feel Lara stiffen. Sam smirked on the inside and looked back at the screen, hoping that Lara was just as aroused with this as she was. Those moves looked _good_ , and Sam wouldn't mind if Lara tried them on her.

"My god," Sam muttered, "Doesn't that look fun to try out?"

Lara looked down at her, wide eyed, then leaned forward and paused the movie.

"Hey, why'd you do that?" Sam asked, sitting up.

Lara shifted away from her slightly and turned to face her. "Sam I…" she started, her fingers rubbing her knuckles. "I…Well correct me if I'm wrong but…I- I can't help but feel you're trying to tell me something..." She looked at her nervously in the eyes.

Sam laughed awkwardly. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"Well…first you came out in nothing but a towel…and then you walked into my room with nothing but your underwear on…." Her face was getting redder as she gave each example and she gestured to the TV. "And now…you're making us watch a…French porno?"

"To be fair, this is a critically acclaimed film," Sam corrected.

"Okay fine. But still…are you…trying to hint at…something?"

Sam sighed. "Okay…maybe I am," she admitted. "It's just that it's been a while since we've gotten together and we still haven't had sex yet." Lara looked away and sighed, rubbing her eyes. "I know you said that you weren't ready yet before, but like, you met Amanda by hooking up with her. And we haven't even done anything yet so I was just… trying to encourage you."

When Lara didn't respond Sam started to fidget. What if they hadn't done anything yet because Lara didn't want to do anything with _her_?

"Do you…even want me that way?" she asked uncertainly.

Lara looked up at her. "Of course I do Sam," she said immediately.

"Really? Cause I can get why you liked Amanda. She's smart and had that goth thing going on I didn't think you'd be into-"

"Sam." Lara grabbed her face and forced her to look into her eyes. "You're beautiful okay? If I wasn't so tired right now, I would probably do you on the couch right now." Sam blushed. Lara blushed as well after she realized what she just said but she also smiled. The smile faded quickly though. "I've just been so busy with work and study that I don't think I'd be able to make you happy. To make it special."

"Lara, if it's with you it's special," Sam said. Lara smiled brightly and for a moment the bags under her eyes disappeared. "But I get it. It's sucks so much but I get it." She kissed her on the cheek. "Whenever you're ready."

Lara smiled and then leaned forward and caught her lips in hers. They sat there kissing for a few seconds, until Lara leaned away and nodded towards her bedroom. "I'm pretty tired. How about we call it a night?"

Sam raised an eyebrow. Lara was suggesting this after the conversation they just had?

Lara must have realized the implication and added quickly, "I mean we can just cuddle," she said. "Like I said, I don't think I can do you justice tonight."

Sam laughed. "That sounds great," she said.

Sure enough, they didn't end up doing anything that night. After a few kisses, Lara fell asleep pretty quickly, snuggled into her side. Sam lay there, stroking her hair and listening to her breathe.

Lara was so tired recently, so swamped under work and uni. Why did she stress herself so much? She had an inheritance that would set her up for life yet she didn't want to touch it. She was always ahead on her assignments, so why did she insist on doing them again and again?

Sam looked at her girlfriend. Her eyes were blissfully closed and her lips parted ever so slightly. Her forehead was finally smooth, not wrinkled or creased like it usually was. This was the most relaxed Sam had seen her in the past two months. Lara worked so hard; she didn't need to come home and deal with Sam's drama as well.

A sudden pang of guilt struck her heart.

She had been _really_ selfish recently, she realized. She had been so absorbed with her own stupid desire that she had neglected how much Lara was struggling. God, what kind of a girlfriend was she?

Sam turned onto her side so she was facing Lara. A strand of hair fell in front of her face and she brushed it away. Lara deserved to relax with how hard she worked, and now Sam was going to try her best to make ensure that she did.


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you to the Guest that left a review :)

* * *

Media studies wasn't a hard course, so Sam had quite a lot of time to do the chores at home. Lara was meant to be cooking dinner tonight, but she would be tired after coming home from uni. After so many nights of take away, Sam thought that it would be nice to have a home cooked meal.

She dropped by the grocery store on the way home and picked up some ingredients. She was going to cook pasta tonight, but she couldn't cook it every night so she decided to pick up some extra ingredients. Chorizo, chicken, some vegetables- things to spice up future pastas and to make new dishes. This was going to be tough, but Sam had faith in Jamie Oliver's recipes.

When she got home she vacuumed the house first before starting on dinner. Pasta was easy, and Sam decided to throw in some of the chorizo just so there was something different.

She had just put the sauce on the heat when she heard the front door open. "Sam?" she heard Lara call out.

"In the kitchen!"

She heard footsteps come down the hall and into the room. "Are you cooking?" Lara asked.

"Yeah," Sam replied, "I hope you don't mind."

Lara walked up behind her. "No…it smells delicious. But I thought dinner was my job tonight."

"Ehh I just felt like pasta," Sam shrugged. "I hope you don't mind."

"No, it's fine," she said. Sam glanced behind her as she felt Lara linger. Her hair was a mess and her eyes seemed unfocused. Lara gave her a tired smile and said, "I'm going to take a shower."

Sam kissed her on the cheek. "Okay sweetie."

Dinner was only one of the things she took care of.

Sam made an extra effort to clean the house and do the laundry, and by the end of the first week she understood why Lara had been so exhausted the past month. Juggling uni, her assignments and her house work and errands, Sam had no energy left in her body on Saturday morning. All she had to do was lie in her bed and sleep, but she had to do the laundry today. So with a groan, she swung her feet over the side and pushed herself up.

Lara was too busy to question why she was doing all this work, something which Sam was grateful for. If she found out that all this was killing her she wouldn't allow her to continue. Lara was grateful though, offering a thanks before she shuffled back to her room to study or sleep. Her work never seemed to end and neither did her assignments, so Sam would sometimes drop in with a fresh cup of tea, a Jaffa cake and a quick kiss just to keep her revitalized.

And her efforts were paying off.

Lara was more energized, and Sam didn't need to beg her to watch a movie with her anymore. They would cuddle on the couch, watching some terrible B-grade film until they were tired and headed to sleep. One night, Lara had come into her room whilst Sam was editing a video in bed, claiming she had done enough study for the night.

"Who are you, and what have you done with Lara Croft?" Sam asked incredulously, taking her headphones off and watching Lara crawl into bed next to her.

"Oh quiet," Lara scolded. She ducked under the covers and then lay on the pillow next to her, throwing an arm over her legs. "I just missed you."

Sam was glad Lara had her eyes closed then or else she would have seen her blush. After that, Sam couldn't concentrate on her assignment as Lara slept next to her. She quietly shut her laptop, placed it on her bedside and snuggled under the sheets with her girlfriend.

* * *

Although all the extra work drained her to the bones, she gradually got used to it. Cooking was surprisingly enjoyable, and it was nice eating different meals every week.

After the first few successes (and some failures, but we don't talk about those), Sam was trying new recipes for dinner. One night she made smoked salmon on a bed of zucchini salad, whilst another she made them enough curry to cover two dinners. It wasn't as good as the Indian place, but hey, she was learning.

Today, she had come home after a lecture and was trying out a recipe for tuna bake. Lara had her final exam today, and work after. If Sam could get this ready before 6, then they could have an early dinner and watch that new show that just came out on Netflix before she went to work. That would be a nice way to spend the few hours after an exam.

She was busy chopping the mushrooms when she heard keys in the front door. "Sam?" she heard Lara call.

"I'm in the kitchen!" she replied, turning back to her mushrooms. "How was your exam?" she asked.

"It was good," she replied. Warm arms wrapped around her waist and she felt Lara place a kiss on her neck. Sam froze, startled at the sudden intimacy. She turned to ask Lara what was happening but the words were taken from her lips with a kiss.

Sam caught her breath, slowly kissing back and lifting a hand to cup her jaw. When they broke apart they were both breathless.

"What was that for?" Sam whispered, turning around and resting her forehead against Lara's. Not that she didn't like surprise kisses, but…this was just so unlike Lara.

Lara rested her hands on her waist and smiled at her. She had a dreamy look on her face. "You know," she said. "For being amazing."

Sam shrugged bashfully and smiled, "I didn't do much."

"You did plenty," Lara said. "Even when you didn't have to. Don't think that I haven't noticed what you've been doing this past month."

Sam smiled and felt her heart swell. She liked the way that Lara was looking at her right now, with those eyes of pure love and adoration. She wouldn't mind seeing them for the rest of her life.

"I was thinking we should go out tonight," Lara continued, her hands pulling them closer together. "I've heard about this nice place in the city- French food. Do you want to try it? My shout."

Sam frowned. "Don't you have work tonight?" she asked.

Lara shrugged. "I called in sick. After these past few months, I think I would like to spend some time with my girlfriend."

Sam beamed. As much as she would have loved to impress Lara with her tuna bake, fancy French food sounded better. "I would love that," she said.

Lara smiled. "Good…" Her smile turned sly and she bit her lower lip, her eyes flicking down to her lips for a second. "Well…since you don't need to cook anymore...how about we spend this free time…" Her head cocked to the side and her eyes darted towards their bedroom.

Sam raised her eyebrows, unsure if Lara meant what she hoped. "Are you sure?" she asked.

"Well, it depends if you're still wearing that purple lingerie."

Sam grinned and guided Lara's hands to the waistband of her jeans. She leaned up, closing her eyes slowly. She stopped just before her mouth, and could feel her lips tingling in anticipation. "Come and find out."


End file.
